Bitcoin (BTC) and Litecoin (LTC) Approved for Venezuelan Remittance Service

05-03-2019

The Venezuelan Government backed by Nicolas Maduro has launched a Cryptocurrency remittance service called "Remesas" which will allow citizens to transfer Bitcoin (BTC) and Litecoin (LTC).

The new service will run on the Patria platform that is directly controlled by the country's Crypto regulator - Superintendency of Cryptoassets and Related Activities (Sunacrip).

According to their website:

Remesas is a service of the Patria Platform that allows you to send remittances to Venezuela in Cryptocurrencies. The resources sent will be available in Sovereign Bolivars in the Monedero Patria as soon as the transfer is confirmed.

Users will be able to send remittances to Venezuela in two Cryptocurrencies:

"The cryptocurrencies that can be used to send [remittances] are bitcoin and litecoin."

The service falls directly under the Maduro regime where the transactions can be disabled anytime. The platform will also deduct a fee for facilitating the transactions which could go as high as 15%. The service places several restrictions on the amount that can be withdrawn, the exchange rates are determined by the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV).

Blockmanity's Take

This seems like another way for the authoritarian Maduro regime to restrict and control the access of Venezuelans access to global capital and beat US sanctions. The Maduro regime is even opposing aid from countries like the US which supports the opposition leader Juan Guaido. Juan has called Petro a scam on multiple occasions and is also a supporter of Bitcoin.

A better alternative to Maduro's platform would be peer to peer exchanges like Local Bitcoins. As the country's currency, the bolivar is losing its value through hyperinflation Venezuelans are embracing Bitcoin. Local Bitcoins has seen record volumes in 2019, according to Coindance Bitcoins worth $63 million have already been transacted on the platform this year.